Utopia is the name of a book. Thomas More wrote it in 1516. He wrote it in Latin. Its original title is De Optimo Republicae Statu deque Nova Insula Utopia. This is usually translated to On the Best State of a Republic and on the New Island of Utopia.
The book is about an island with an imagined society. In the book, a visitor to this island tells about his trip there. According to him, Utopia has a system of laws that is perfect. Society there is also perfect. The political system is so good that nothing better can be thought out. Today, the word is used to refer to a society that is unrealistic, and impossible to make.
There were several attempts to create such perfect societies (They did not work). The word utopia can also refer to a society of such an attempt.
Religious utopias[change | change source]
The ideas Christians, Jews and Muslims have of the Garden of Eden, and of Heaven can be seen as such utopias. In Hinduism the concept of Moksha, and in Buddhism the concept of Nirvana are other examples of religious utopias.
Other websites[change | change source]
- Digitally reconstructed edition of the book
- A newer critical approach as to how to see the book (pdf)